Injury Report: Week 1

The one-stop shop for Sunday morning lineup tinkering with injury updates for all NFL teams and their fantasy viable players.

Buffalo at Baltimore

Buffalo- Healthy

Baltimore-Hayden Hurst

Outlook- Baltimore and Buffalo go into the first match of the year with all fantasy players good to go for the most part. Look for a committee of Nick Boyle, Maxx Williams, or fellow rookie Mark Andrews to fill in at TE for Baltimore.

Jacksonville at New York

Jacksonville-Marqise Lee (Out)

NYG- Healthy

Outlook- Lee being out for Jacksonville may have helped fantasy owners in their gut call on who the best guy is in Jacksonville, but it doesn’t help Jacksonville establish their best possible passing attack. Expect a combination of players for Jacksonville to fill in for Lee’s target share.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans

Tampa Bay – Jameis Winston

New Orleans – Mark Ingram (suspended)

Outlook- The Saints are a hard favorite to clean the house vs Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay will have to worry about what it does on defense before and special teams before they can realistically examine the impact of Ryan Fitzpatrick on their game totals. The only Tampa Bay players I am starting are Mike Evans and Peyton Barber due to volume and role.

Outlook- Both New England and Houston enter this matchup dinked up. New England is without Sony Michel as well as Edelman and Houston is without a fully healthy Fuller and Coutee. Coutee and Fuller are set to benefit mightily from having Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins playing on the same offense. Their absence will be felt if both are ruled out. Both teams will score multiple touchdowns regardless so it is more about the other options on both sides rising to the challenge. Bruce Ellington is expected to step into a starting role for the Texans while James White and Rex Burkhead will have the lion share of snaps at running back for the Patriots.

San Francisco at Minnesota

San Francisco- Jerick McKinnon(out)

Minnesota- Healthy

Outlook- McKinnon’s injury was arguably the most disappointing in fantasy for the off season. You hate to see a man who worked hard get presented an opportunity like the one in San Francisco and then have injury strike. We all wish McKinnon a swift recovery.

Meanwhile Matt Breida looks to have an increasingly interesting amount of upside for season long leagues and Alfred Morris becomes a lock in standard leagues based on what we know his role to be. AKA — the short yardage power back in a Kyle Shanahan offense. However this game vs Minnesota will be a tough one for all San Francisco skill positions. Expect a low scoring game for San Francisco relative to what we will see going forward, hopefully.

Tennessee at Miami

Tennessee- Healthy

Miami- Devante Parker(Out)

Outlook- With no Parker, Miami will sail the ship as it would with him. Balanced passing and rushing. Danny Amendola stands to see the most WR target uptick from no Parker. I also think Parker’s absence in combination with match up vs a Tennessee Defense who was woeful at best vs Tight Ends and team draft capital, we see Mike Gesicki establish himself in the Red Zone for the Dolphins.

Outlook- None of these players matter for the Colts as long as Andrew Luck is ready. The Colts will sink or swim under Luck. Expect a lot of people in the NFL to be watching this game very closely, as one of the authorities at QB returns to action.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland

Pittsburg- Vance McDonald (out)

Cleveland-Healthy

Outlook- Not an Injury — but Le’Veon Bell is NOT playing. HE IS HOLDING OUT. Hello James Connor. However, Cleveland has captivated the nation in this season of Hard Knocks and will be motivated not to be the driveway of the AFC North. Expect a tightly contested match.

Kansas City at L.A Chargers

Kansas City-Healthy

LA Chargers-Hunter Henry (out)

The Henry injury hurts the Chargers more than the public necessarily realizes. Henry remains on the short list of players at the position that have the combination of talent and QB play necessary to be a star. To act as if the Chargers will go as planned without him is disrespectful to what he offers the Chargers. Nonetheless the Chargers will be fine without him. Antonio Gates could score double digit TDs and nobody on earth would be surprised. It is difficult to name a more iconic duo than Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers. Expect the Chargers to spread the wealth in the passing game to all starting WRs but once they enter the red zone it quickly becomes Gate’s territory. Mike Williams will get looks throughout the season but those targets in the Redzone are arguably the most valuable passing attempts in the game. On a team like the Chargers you will have to earn those targets. This match with a soft Kansas City defense will be a good first look at the pecking order.

Seattle at Denver

Denver-Healthy

Seattle- Healthy

Outlook- My personal must watch of the of week one. I think Case Keenum is criminally underrated in Fantasy. With a questionable Seattle side and home field advantage, Denver will look to get the Case era off with a bang. Seattle meanwhile is developing a chip on their shoulder and a superstar QB, Russell Wilson who still feels to be underrated. This one has me excited.

Dallas at Carolina

Cowboys – Healthy

Panthers – Curtis Samuel (out)

Outlooks- Samuel will be back as soon as week two. The Panthers also drafted D.J. Moore at WR who looks to fill in next to Devin Funchess. No major repercussions as nobody was going to start Curtis Samuel outside of those in a 20 person plus league.

Washington at Arizona

Redskins –Derrius Guice (out)

Arizona – Healthy

Outlook- The Washington Football team now employs Adrian Peterson to play running back. This should work well. Chris Thompson was always going to have a role as well. I buy the coach-speak from Jon Gruden on Thompson. Expect strong RB2 numbers in PPR. If AP is healthy and ready to rumble and Thompson does what he did last year the Washington Football team’s running backs will prove to be of useful value.

Outlook- The Lions defense is theoretically a lock. No reason to turns the Jets’ potential into something unrealistic. They should compete, but if Detroit does what they want to do than it will be a very harsh welcome to the NFL for Sam Darnold.

L.A Rams at Oakland

The Rams-healthy

The Raiders-Marshawn Lynch(probable) DeAndre Washington(questionable)

Outlook- The Rams are right next to the Ravens and Saints in my confidence of winning level. Oakland could come out with some offensive wrinkles that turn the score into something that resembles a competition, but I expect the Rams to dominate within the 60 minutes. If Lynch does not go and Washington does not go, Doug Martin becomes a strong play and perhaps one of the few bright spots for Oakland. As of right now I’d expect Lynch in uniform.